Lance's Fury
by Fire Bear1
Summary: Lance has finally gotten into the Academy and now the young, powerful watercrafter is living his dream. His only problems are the overwhelming pressure of the constant crowds' emotions and Keith. That is, until he pays a little too much attention to Keith and his life becomes equal parts more exciting and complicated...
1. Academy Life

_**I shouldn't be starting a new multi-chapter fic but I really loved this idea and couldn't rest till I'd got the first chapter out at least.  
**_

 _ **Writing the Voltron characters is new to me so, if they're OOC, I'm sorry. ^^"**_

 _ **Also, this is a Codex Alera AU - it's a series of books by Jim Butcher. Basically, it's people in Ancient Roman times who discovered these things called furies which help them master the elements. There's windcrafting, firecrafting, earthcrafting, watercrafting, metalcrafting and woodcrafting. Their abilities will probably be brought up in the story but let me know if you have any questions.**_

 _ **Additionally, I'm using the Codex Alera map/place names and also their form of cursing. Just because.**_

* * *

Lance yawned and leaned back, letting his fingers dip into the water of the fountain. As always, it was a comfort to know that there was water nearby. With its presence, he could focus on it rather than the emotions swirling around him. Then again, most of the emotions at the moment were feelings of exhaustion and... hm, someone was regretting coming to the Academy. Probably one of the High Lord kids.

"Are you still tired?" Pidge demanded from beside him, frowning.

"Of course I am," Lance complained, squeezing his eyes shut tight in demonstration. "It's still too damned early in the crow-begotten morning."

"Shouldn't you be used to this by now?" Hunk asked from the ground. His head was laid back against the stone of the fountain and he smiled up at him, apparently amused.

"I may have been up late," Lance replied with a shrug of his shoulder.

"Doing what exactly?" asked Pidge, curiously. "You never handed in the assignment."

"Maybe I _tried_ but fell asleep before I could figure it out."

"Nope," said Hunk. "You weren't even in the dormitory."

"Urgh, Hunk! Stop making me look bad!"

"Kinda hard for him to do that any more than you already do yourself," said Pidge offhandedly, going back to fiddling with her dagger.

"Pidge!" Lance cried, aghast.

Smirking, Pidge ran a finger along the flat of her blade before finally sticking it through her belt. Then she stretched her arms above her head, leaning back enough that her ponytail swung from side to side. "I take it you were drinking? And other activities thus related?"

"Yeah..." grumbled Lance, a little annoyed that he was apparently so predictable.

"And how much money did the earthcrafters make off of you this time?" Hunk innocently asked.

"Don't you guys have a class in, like, soon? We should all be going, right?" said Lance, quickly standing up. He'd rather not admit to how much he had spent and _still_ not managed to find his way to someone's bed. The dancers had hardly had to use their crafting in order to entice money from him, probably due to his watercrafting being overwhelmed with the amount of lust permeating the building he had been in.

Hunk said something from the direction of his knees but he zoned out as his watercrafting senses picked up a spike of anger from at least three sources and... irritation from one other. He gazed around the courtyard and almost immediately spotted the problem. A young man his own age with long, stupid, black hair was surrounded by a trio of well-known bullies. Whilst the irritated man was lean and slight, the three bullies were bulky, betraying their natural earthcrafting abilities. And Lance knew that there was a chance the boy would be overcome if he wasn't careful. Lance watched his lips moving and the anger from the bullies grew, fuelling Lance's own irritation.

"Tsk. Don't look now but Keith is getting in over his head again," he told his friends, watching as a couple more guys, these ones leaner but probably just as dangerous, flocked to their friends.

"Again?" said Pidge, standing up as well.

"Should we help?" asked Hunk. "I mean, we could. But those guys look kinda... strong."

Lance spared Hunk a glance. "Hunk. You can literally lift whole wagons. I'm sure you could take all three of 'em with one hand tied behind your back."

"I mean, I couldn't..." said Hunk, nervously.

Anger flared once more and Lance looked back over to see one of the bigger lads clench his fists. "Oh, look. The idiot's decided to anger them even more."

"We're gonna have to help him," Pidge declared and started off without looking back at them.

Sighing, Lance muttered to Blue and gestured to the water in the fountain, lifting a sphere of it into the air. "He'd better thank us this time. Or this'll be the last time," he added, pointing a finger at Hunk.

He and Hunk followed Pidge over, watching her draw her dagger as she went. Lance grimaced. Hopefully, this wouldn't end as messily as the last time. They reached the group just as Keith was saying something, the rage within one of the men growing rapidly – so much so that Lance almost dropped the water he had transported across the courtyard.

"-her flirting with a watercrafter from her course."

"Oh, crows," murmured Lance, suddenly realising who the angry academ was. Trenson, the man who was courting a young woman Lance often flirted with. He happened to be very powerful, not just in earthcrafting but also in metal, fire and windcrafting, as depicted by the multiple beads on his lanyard. In short, he could probably kill Lance with one powerful blow.

Pidge and Hunk both sent Lance an exasperated look before leaping into action. Hunk summoned his fury, a grass lion made from yellow stone. He laid a hand on its forehead for a moment before he sent it through the ground, making it shake and throwing off everyone's balance apart from Pidge (who had been expecting it), Lance (who staggered but managed to stay upright) and Keith (who had evidently seen Hunk and reacted immediately). Meanwhile, Pidge used her metalcrafting to speed herself up and accurately slice at the men's trousers. Keith also chose the moment to act, darting forward with the aid of his windcrafting to plough into one of the bigger guys.

In a few seconds, two men were on the ground, two had their breeches around their ankles and were in the process of pulling them up – and one was aiming a punch at Pidge. Lance threw his ball of water at him, distracting him enough that Pidge darted under his reach and placed her blade at his sternum.

Everyone froze. The courtyard was silent save for Pidge and Keith's panting. For Lance, however, it was as if everyone was talking at the top of their voices. Behind him, all those that had witnessed the incident were equal parts worried and scared, probably wondering if the fight would end in death or a challenge to the _juris_ macto or even involve _them_. Those who were friends with the bullies were annoyed, probably because this sort of thing had happened before (though usually with more injuries). The bullies themselves were furious at having been so humiliated. Pidge was nervous but determined while Hunk's nervousness nearly overwhelmed Lance as well. Keith meanwhile was... irritated. Impatient. What in furies' name was so important that he couldn't be a little more cautious?

After a few moments of silence, Lance cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should all back off, one step at a time? Then we can go about our business and you can..." He paused, looked Trenson up and down before nodding. "You can get to your..." Again, he paused, this time to waggle his eyebrows and wink. "Class," he finished with a grin, hoping he'd get the hint.

Trenson's eyes narrowed and then dropped to Lance's lanyard. Lance tried hard not to wince at the sudden spike of anger. Clearly, being a watercrafter around Trenson was not safe at the moment. He tried not to take a step back as Trenson's breathing grew heavy, pressing himself into Pidge's knife.

"We all have places to be," said Keith suddenly, stepping away from them. Once there was enough distance, he turned and began to walk around the group. "And there are maestros coming." With that, he stalked off as they all scrambled to get away from each other before any of them earned a demerit.

Lance and his friends didn't turn their back on the bigger men until they were halfway back to the fountain. "Speaking of class," said Pidge, her relief practically palpable, "we should be going."

"Yeah, I have to go meet Maestro Coran," said Lance. "I'll see you guys later, yeah?"

"Yeah," agreed Hunk, looking as if he wanted to sit down before his knees buckled. Lance clapped a hand to his shoulder in an effort to reassure him. Giving him a last encouraging smile, Lance headed off.

It took him a few steps to realise that he was only several feet behind _Keith_. He suppressed a growl and glared at the other academ, speeding up. As he did so, he tried to do as he'd been taught, willing Blue to keep everyone else's emotions at bay whilst he concentrated on Keith. And, as usual, he couldn't feel _anything_. It irritated him. Who didn't feel _anything_? Was he some kind of monster masquerading as an Aleran?

Of course, he knew there were people who could keep their emotions walled off from watercrafters. His younger siblings had managed it for a while. But, as Lance had grown, so had his abilities and he had quickly been able to overcome those walls. He usually had the opposite problem, feeling too much from everyone around him.

But not with Keith.

For some reason, Keith was closed off from him. He had no idea what he was thinking and thus couldn't do what he did best: gauging how to act around him. Lance didn't overtly change his personality too much for each person but he would know when it was a bad idea to flirt with them or when humour was needed to cheer them up. But when he had met Keith and introduced himself, he had been lost. That had exacerbated the feeling of being out of place in the Academy and... Okay, so maybe he had lashed out a couple of times and now they hated each other. But it was all _Keith's_ fault. If he'd just open himself up a little...

Also, it wasn't fair that he had more than one furycrafting. Sure, Pidge and Hunk had two but their furycrafting totally complemented Lance's watercrafting. Keith had _three_. And one of them was _fire_.

Not to mention his mysteriousness. He was always disappearing somewhere for hours on end before popping up in class again. Lance was always relieved when he wasn't there and relieved when he turned up: he'd also broken several pencils after squeezing them too tight when either option happened. Everything about Keith made Lance... Well, it made him barely suppress his shaking from anger.

Reminding himself that he wasn't actually going to a lecture and so wouldn't need to think about Keith, Lance took a deep breath to calm himself. Smiling to himself, he sped up again and was soon level with Keith. The other academ glanced at him and narrowed his eyes. Lance only smirked back before lengthening his strides and beating Keith to the door. With a grin over his shoulder, he slipped inside and hurried off to find Coran.

He had barely gone halfway down one of the long corridors when he spotted his maestro coming towards him. The man was humming cheerfully, one finger curling around the end of his moustache. Lance wondered where he was going since they always had their lessons in the same room with the same pool of water in the middle. Since Coran hadn't noticed him, Lance bounded over and waved a hand in front of his face.

"Maestro Coran!" he exclaimed. "Where are you off to?"

"Oh, Lance!" Coran beamed at him. "Glad I caught you! We're going to be having a lesson in a different room today."

"Why?" Lance asked as he fell into step beside him.

"You expressed an interest in forming ice, didn't you?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well, the easiest way to form ice is to use firecrafting. But you knew that, of course!" Coran chuckled to himself.

"Yeah..." said Lance, a little petulantly. Another thing to annoy him about Keith: not only did he have a cool power like fire, but he could also make ice with it.

"I thought it would be a good idea to have you present as a firecrafter formed ice. Then you would know what happens to the water and you could, perhaps replicate it. Since they have lessons at the other end of the building, I thought it wise to have our lesson closer to them to help them get to their next class in time." Coran stopped outside a door, turning to Lance with his hands clasped behind his back. "Well? Do you think you'll be up for it?"

Lance considered it. Fire, as everyone knew, disrupted the power of water furies and he was loathe to feel himself disconnected from Blue in the event something went wrong. But forming ice was something he desperately wanted to do – then, when he returned home to Learcoholt, he could make their pond freeze over so he could skate with his younger siblings. That would make them happy, would make up for leaving them behind to come to the Academy. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad...

"Sure!" he said, grinning at Coran.

"Then here we go!" Coran declared and opened the door.

The room within was much like the other room Lance was taught in. A large pool was in the centre, the water perfectly still, a few lily pads floating on the surface. Couches faced it, the rich green fabric the only colour in the otherwise bland room. Furylamps were attached to the walls but none of them were lit as the sun peeked in from windows high above, little squares set into the white wall far above their heads. It was a peaceful room.

Until Lance spotted Keith lounging on the couch closest to them.

"What's _he_ doing here?!" Lance cried, throwing an arm out to point at him. Keith's response was to look around and, when he spotted Lance, sigh.

"He's the firecrafter I asked to help out. I've been assured he's one of the best firecrafting academs here," Coran explained, closing the door behind them and walking to the couch opposite Keith.

Huffing, Lance made his way to the couch beside Coran, keen to keep an eye on Keith. "Couldn't we just find someone else? I don't mind waiting..."

Coran looked between them, evidently confused. "You'll help us, won't you, Keith?" he asked.

"Sure. If I'm making him uncomfortable, though, I can go." He gave Lance a cursory glance, as if he wasn't worth his time.

Lance's eyes narrowed. "Oh, no. No, no, no. We're doing this." He was _not_ letting _Keith_ think he was backing out of this. Whatever _this_ was.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Unless you're gonna back out?" Lance secretly hoped he would. Then they could look for someone he actually liked to help them out.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to let the maestro down," Keith replied, staring back at him.

"Hmph!"

"Well, now that that's sorted!" said Coran. He shifted forward so that he sat on the edge of the couch, his elbows on his knees. "Now, I suggest you reach out with your fury, Lance, get yourself acquainted with the water."

Giving Keith another irritated glance, Lance turned his gaze to the water. Lifting his hand in front of him, he summoned Blue to him. "Come on out, Blue," he murmured. She obeyed immediately, the shape of a female grass lion made of water forming in front of him. Silently, he asked her to let him feel the water, feel what was happening to it and she leapt into the pool, disappearing as soon as Lance could feel the lazy movement of the water from her disturbance.

"Keith, if you would," said Coran, quietly. Lance barely heard him, relaxing into the couch as he felt the calming water. It was as if he was surrounded by it, cradled within its healing properties.

Then something happened, the water seeming to slow, to still. Lance blinked and watched as ice spread across the pool. He was fascinated at the process, forgetting who was touching the frozen water at the other side of the pool. Staring at it, he wondered what would happen if it sped up. Without thinking, he tried to push the water into doing what he said.

Unfortunately, because of the firecrafting, the water wouldn't do as he said. He reached for Blue again and found her diminished, cowering in the corner not frozen. Worried, Lance tried to call her back before Keith's firecrafting could harm her. But, just as she tried to leave, the pool froze over completely and Lance felt himself cut off from Blue. A yell left him, unbidden and he slipped off the couch, scrabbling in his desperation to find Blue again.

Sharp words were exchanged between Keith and Coran and Lance spotted the ice melting again. Almost as soon as the far corner was released from its prison, Blue erupted from the water and bounded across the room to Lance. The lion-shaped fury was far smaller than usual and she curled up against Lance before disappearing. And, suddenly, he could sense emotions once again, feeling the worry around him.

"Lance, are you all right?" Coran asked, hovering beside him.

Nodding frantically, Lance clutched at his chest, breathing heavily. His gaze swept the room, noting the steam wafting through the air and Coran's quivering, orange-red moustache. Then his eyes landed on Keith who was watching him have a breakdown of sorts. Scowling, he reached back and used the couch to lever himself onto his feet.

"What..." he panted, "in furies' name... was that?!"

"Sorry," Keith mumbled, glancing away. "I thought you wanted the whole pool frozen-"

"You could have waited till Blue got out!"

"'Blue'?" asked Keith, raising an eyebrow. "Really?"

"I named her when I was six!" Lance snapped.

That made Keith pause, his eyes widening. He almost smirked, knowing that Keith must be impressed by that. After all, not many people came into their furies at such a young age. He hadn't really understood what she was at the time but he'd named her Blue and it had stuck. Now, though, it was a little aggravating when people discovered what he had named her and reacted with mocking amusement – not that he would ever change a thing about her. He loved Blue with all his heart: the shock of having her ripped from him just moments ago had terrified him.

"Why didn't you call her back when I started freezing the pool, then?" Keith demanded. "If you're such a powerful watercrafter."

Almost growling, Lance took a step towards Keith, raising a hand. He watched Keith tense, clearly readying himself to fight back. However, Coran stood up and spread his hands in a placating gesture. "Now, now, boys. Let's all calm down."

Lance took a breath, willing to listen to his maestro. But his senses alerted him to the fact that he _couldn't tell_ if Keith was actually calm or not. That familiar frustration welled within him and he shook his head. "No," he snapped. "I've had enough for today, Coran. I'm gonna go." He stomped towards the door.

"What a waste of time," he heard Keith mutter as he passed his couch.

Gritting his teeth, Lance kept himself from using the water in the pool to drench Keith where he sat. He reminded himself that Coran was already disappointed – there was no reason to make Coran hate him. So he stalked from the room, fists clenched, and told himself that he'd show Keith a thing or two the next time he confronted him.

* * *

A few days later and Lance hadn't seen Keith since the 'lesson'. He wasn't sure whether he was relieved or not. Trenson, however, had turned up at some point and warned Lance off his girlfriend. Along with every other male watercrafter. Lance thought it was hilarious that he hadn't bothered to warn off the girls when he knew for a fact that his precious girlfriend was often found in the beds of the earthcrafters down at the brothels.

Speaking of which, that part of the city was where he was currently heading with Pidge and Hunk in tow. He had convinced them that they needed to relax. Or, rather, he had whined until they agreed to go with them. Today was the day when there were no afternoon lessons and Lance was blessed with no morning lessons the next day. He could drink his fill and, hopefully, find himself in one of the earthcrafters' beds.

Hunk and Pidge were considerably less enthused by the idea and were still grumbling.

"We should be _studying_ ," Pidge told them as they headed towards the gate. "That's why we're _here_ , isn't it?"

"The maestros aren't gonna like this," Hunk mumbled, pushing his fingers together restlessly. "And, I mean, if we're late back, we're gonna get demerits. Then they might just refuse to teach us and throw us out and then we'd all have to-"

Lance placed a calming hand on his arm. "Hunk. Calm down. Everything'll be fine, you'll see."

"If we're gonna do this," Pidge said, flipping her hair over her shoulder to get it out of her way, "we're going somewhere with class. Nowhere near those bordellos you always end up in."

"Hey!" Lance exclaimed, turning to frown at Pidge. But he was distracted when something caught his eye. Something black.

Looking up, his heart stopping for a moment, Lance found himself looking at Keith as he darted around the crowd. No-one else was paying him any attention, too focussed on their relaxation. All of them were swamped in happiness and laughter and Lance could feel all of their genuine emotions beyond them. Shutting them out (along with Hunk's reluctance and Pidge's resignation), Lance felt... nothing. He still couldn't sense Keith's emotions, not even from this distance when he would not be aware that Lance was trying to figure him out. His eyes narrowed and he gritted his teeth.

"What's up?" Hunk asked, evidently concerned.

" _Keith_ ," Lance answered, clenching his fists.

His friends followed his gaze. "Huh," said Pidge. "I suppose now's your chance to 'show him'."

"It is!"

"You really gonna go over there?" said Hunk, incredulously.

"I am!"

"You're going to make a fool of yourself," Pidge warned him in a sing-song voice.

"I-" Lance began but broke off when he noticed the building Keith was approaching. It was an old, disused building and looked as though it needed fixing up. Above the door was a sign which read _MAESTRO THACE – REMEDIAL FURYCRAFTING_. Lance blinked as Keith headed straight for the door. When he paused in front of it, Lance knew – somehow – that he was about to check for people watching him. So he spun around and walked off, heading to the gate again but at an angle so he could get closer to the building.

"Wha-? Lance! What are you doing?!" Pidge called, hurrying to catch up. He could hear Hunk's footsteps as well and knew he'd successfully distracted them from Keith in time.

"Didn't you see where he was headed?" Lance said. "He went into the 'Remedial Furycrafting' place. Why would he need to go there? You've seen how many beads he has!" _If anyone needed remedial lessons,_ Lance thought, _it would be me, seeing as I can only watercraft_. "So what's he doing in there?" he finished, stopping to turn to them, eyeing the closed door of the building and the distinct absence of Keith.

"Huh." Pidge stared at it, too, her eyes alight with curiosity. And excitement, Lance realised. "Are there even lessons held there?"

"Maybe he uses it for practise?" Hunk suggested with a shrug of his shoulder. "Or, like, maybe he's got a pet cat or something. Oh, oh! He's the... illegitimate son of someone, right? Maybe he _lives_ there!"

Something complicated twisted Lance's heart and stomach at that thought. With it came a wave of determination, both from himself and Pidge. "There's only one way to find out," Lance said, grinning at Pidge when she grinned at him.

"Uh, he might be angry..." Hunk pointed out. But both Lance and Pidge ignored him, Lance pushing aside Hunk's anxiousness so it wouldn't stop him from bursting through the door.

And bursting through he did, throwing open the door as soon as they reached it. "Aha-!" he began but stopped when he realised that there was no surprised Keith within. Silence greeted them along with old, rickety chairs and desks and a wonky lectern. A massive piece of slate dominated the far wall with a little shelf filled with broken, tiny pieces of chalk. Everything had a layer of dust on it and it looked like nothing had been touched in years.

"What...?" said Pidge, moving inside.

Once Hunk had stepped inside as well, Lance closed the door behind them and gazed around. "I was _sure_ he came in here," Lance mumbled, a little petulantly.

"Maybe he went past," Hunk said, relief clear on his face. "We didn't watch him come in here."

"True," said Pidge, absently, moving around the small room.

"Where else did he go? There are no other buildings and he wasn't around when we turned to look," said Lance, growing more and more confused. Where _had_ the slive gone? How was he supposed to _show_ him when he disappeared like that? "Did he fly off?"

"His windcrafting isn't that good, from what I hear," said Pidge. "But he definitely came in here."

"How'd you know that?" Lance moved over to where Pidge was eyeing the chalkboard.

"Look," she said, pointing. Both Lance and Hunk leaned forward, squinting at it. Then they straightened up with a soft 'ah' of understanding. There were areas on the board that had had dust rubbed off them. Pidge slapped her hand on it and a crack immediately appeared. "Hidden passageway!" she declared, excitedly.

"Uh..." said Hunk, staring at it. "Where d'ya think it goes?"

"Let's find out!" said Pidge and pushed against the board, grunting with the effort. It began to open – slowly – and Lance grimaced.

"C'mon, Hunk. Little help?" he said, turning to Hunk with a pleading expression.

Hunk sighed but, once Pidge had moved aside, he placed a hand flat on the hidden door. "We're gonna get in so much trouble," he mumbled. That seemed to be his final complaint on the matter, for he shoved the door and revealed a set of stone stairs leading down into the bowels of the earth.

"It must lead to the Deeps," said Lance. When he received incredulous glances from Pidge and Hunk, he shrugged. "I've heard about it from the... well, a few people. Lots of illicit activities go on down there. They say nobody knows where every path goes."

"So why would Keith...?" Pidge murmured, finger twirling her hair around as she thought.

"Let's find out," Lance said, grinning. Without a further word, he grabbed an abandoned furylamp and headed down the stairs. But he could tell that Pidge wanted to be cautious and Hunk was worried so he let his senses drift out so that, if they met anyone undesirable on their journey, he would know beforehand and they could hide. All he could sense as they descended, though, was the water that ran through the city and flowed into the sewers, deep below them.

Tension weighed down their shoulders. What would they find at the bottom? The silence was oppressive and Lance desperately wanted to say something. But he was feeling more nervous the longer it took to get anywhere. After all, if he couldn't sense Keith, would he be able to sense any of the other unsavoury characters around here?

They finally got to the bottom and found themselves in a corridor hewed into the rock itself. Lance glanced at his friends: Pidge shrugged; Hunk's eyes darted around despite not being able to see very far. Moving on, Lance was soon able to see that there was a crossroads of sorts ahead. Which path should they take? Which one had Keith taken?

He soon found out.

Just as they reached the adjoining corridors, there was movement and Lance jerked away as something came towards him. Whatever it was, it was fast and probably deadly. He grasped for something to defend himself with but he didn't carry a knife and there wasn't a vast source of water around. Before he could even think of taking the water from the air around them, another movement cut in front of him and two blades clashed just a hand's breadth from his heart.

Blinking once, his eyes focussed and he found Keith wielding a knife against Pidge's dagger. Keith and Pidge struggled for a moment before they broke away. Lance staggered back, still in shock, his heart hammering in his chest. He had almost been killed... By _Keith_.

"Keith-" Pidge began but the other academ had focussed his attention on what he seemingly deemed the greater threat and launched himself at her, his windcrafting ruffling her hair as he used his increased speed to fight her. Thankfully, Pidge was using her metalcrafting and was just as fast, keeping up with every swing.

"Oh man, oh man, oh man," Hunk was mumbling beside Lance. "What do we do?"

"Defend ourselves!" Lance declared. He quickly dropped to his haunches and placed his hand flat on the ground. If he could only pull what water from under them, maybe he could use that against Keith.

"Right..." said Hunk. For a moment, he watched Pidge's fight. Then he slapped his hand to the rocky wall. Something rippled from him and moved down the wall, across the floor, towards the fight. Pidge seemed to sense him coming and, at the last moment, she leapt backwards. The ground beneath Keith shook before rocks, some pointed and deadly, erupted, surrounding Keith.

Meanwhile, Lance had finally gotten Blue to pull the water from deep below. It oozed up out of the cracks and Lance willed it towards Keith. Before the man could move from where he had been trapped, Lance thrust the water into the earth around him, pooling it there until the water turned the earth to mud. Keith gave a yelp of surprise as the mud sucked his boots in, pulling him further in. He struggled against it but the earth was cancelling out his wind fury's power and he could do little more than wobble and flail his arms. Pidge gave Hunk a look and Hunk willed away the deadly stones. As soon as he had, Pidge darted forwards, enough to bring her closer to Keith but far enough away to remain out of the range of the mud. She pointed her dagger at Keith's throat and everything stilled.

Slowly, Lance stood up and lifted the dropped furylamp. "What the crows, Keith?!" he exclaimed. "What was that?! You could've killed us!"

"What are you doing down here?" Pidge asked.

"And can we get out of the Deeps now?" Hunk added.

Keith frowned. Then he looked at each of them and his eyes widened in surprise, as if he hadn't properly seen them in his attack. "Wait, what are you three doing down here?"

"Ah, ah, ah," said Lance, wagging his finger, other hand on his hip. "We asked first."

Frowning, Keith shook his head and pressed his lips together. He gave one of his legs an experimental tug. "It's none of your business," he said.

"It is if you wanna get out of there," Lance told him, folding his arms. "C'mon, we're not gonna _tell_ anyone."

"Not like most people listen to us, anyway," Pidge said.

"Coran listens to me," interjected Lance, proudly.

"That's 'cause he likes you," Hunk replied.

"I'm not telling you anything," Keith interrupted them. "Let me out."

Stalking towards him, Lance looked him up and down. "Fine," he said. Then he reached out and yanked the knife from Keith's grip before he could realise what was happening. Keith made a sound which was probably a protest but Lance didn't listen to him, eyes flickering to the intricate design of the hilt, barely visible in the dim light. "We'll let you out," he continued as Keith reached for him. "But you're going to take us to where you were going. Or else I'll hang onto this – understand?"

* * *

 _ **I'm not sure if the logistics with Lance and Keith and the pool would be possible since they didn't ever actually have a watercrafter fight a firecrafter in such a way in the books but I figured I could take a bit of creative licence with it.  
**_

 _ **And Keith would probably have fared better, I figure, if he hadn't been facing the other paladins, I'm sure.**_


	2. Cursor-in-Training

It took them four tries to get Keith out of the mud – not because they had difficulty pulling him free but because, every time they got him partially out, he would attempt to pry the knife from Lance's grip or attack Pidge or lunge at Hunk. Eventually, they backed off and waited until Keith bregrudgingly asked for their help. Lance kept out of the way as Hunk hauled him out, Keith's knife stuck through the back of his belt. With Keith underground and his knife taken from him, Lance figured his fighting ability had been decreased by half.

Eventually, Keith began to lead them deeper into the underground tunnels. They took twists and turns and it wasn't long before Lance was lost. He tamped down on his own fears of being lost forever under the earth but Hunk's anxiousness began to increase exponentially and Lance could feel it. There were several times when Lance found himself clutching at his chest in response to Hunk's emotions.

In contrast, Pidge was quite calm. Lance couldn't figure out why. At least, not until she suddenly spoke up. "You're taking us in circles," she told Keith, pressing her knife firmly against his back.

"What are you talking about?" Keith asked, his tone even. Lance couldn't tell if he was lying or not: it was still as frustrating as before.

"I've been marking each junction," she explained, taking her knife away to strike at the wall. A mark did, indeed, appear there – underneath a similar one which was already there. "You're trying to get us lost. Don't."

"Yeah, Keith," said Lance, leering at him. "You won't be getting away from us so just do what we asked. Can't be that bad, can it?"

Lance could practically hear Keith grinding his teeth. His fists were clenched and his entire body was tense. There was silence for a while until Keith suddenly relaxed, took a deep breath, slowly let it out – and nodded. "Fine," he murmured. "Come on." And he turned on his heel to lead them back up the path they'd been taken.

Startled, Lance glanced at the others before they quickly followed. What, exactly, had just happened, Lance wondered. Had Keith given in? Or was there something horrible waiting for them around the next corner? Was he leading them into a trap? Would they be killed by an earthcrafter or a more powerful metalcrafter? Was the ceiling going to cave in and crush them all? Then again, Hunk would be able to save them. Everything would be fine, Lance told himself.

Hunk, however, was evidently thinking much the same things as his worry grew. Even Pidge was wary, clutching her knife tightly. Lance thought he should probably get ready for whatever was going to happen so he called for Blue and sent her to find whatever water she could. Despite Blue finding some not too far away, the silence which weighed heavy on them did not dispel his worries. It didn't help that the silence wasn't complete: the skittering of what he hoped were rats reached them as well as what sounded like whispering but was likely the wind.

Eventually, Keith stopped before a door built into the rock and turned back to them. Lance looked beyond them, noticing that the door looked similar to the classroom doors above. He didn't have long to wonder what was beyond for Keith stepped up to him, glaring at him. "I've done what you wanted: give me my knife."

"All right, all right," said Lance, reaching behind him. "Calm down, man. I'm not planning on keeping the thing." He dutifully handed it over but tightened his grip on the blade as Keith took hold of the knife. "You're not planning on doing something stupid, are you?"

Keith gave him a look before wresting the blade from his grasp. Lance was quick to let go of it when he felt a flicker of pain. Blue was, thankfully, quick to heal it and he merely scowled at Keith. The other student blinked at him for a moment before he turned and opened the door, shoving the heavy thing aside.

Lance glanced at his friends. Pidge shrugged at him while Hunk glanced over his shoulder, still nervous and probably wanting to go back to barracks. But, still curious, Lance shrugged at Hunk, patted him on the arm and followed Keith into a huge room.

There was nothing really in it, save for a large space where reed mats had been laid down. Large furylamps flickered on each pillar, casting light on the multitude of staffs and other close-range weapons laid out beside a strip of straw-covered ground. On the opposite side from this strip was various rope and wooden structures which Lance surmised was an obstacle course of some kind. The only other things in the room were the small gathering of academs and a maestro who were all staring at them as they entered.

At first glance, it looked like it was an actual classroom. Perhaps the Remedial Furycrafting classroom, in fact. However, Lance couldn't understand why Keith had been so opposed to them coming here. Was this really a front for some sort of illegal operation? Was he embarrassed about actually needing these classes?

"Keith?" said the maestro, drawing Lance's attention to him. The man was tall and broad, his black clothing not hiding his muscles whatsoever. His dark hair had been parted neatly at some point but two unruly tufts stuck up on either side of his head; they looked like horns or extensions of his ears, depending on the angle. A beard had been clipped close to his chin, making him look older but Lance could tell he was a watercrafter and would likely never look any older than he did now. He had a hand on the hilt of a large knife, frowning at the newcomers. "What is this?" he asked Keith, completely focussed on him.

Everyone watched Keith shrug and fold his arms. "They followed me," he said, simply. "I don't know how they saw me entering: I was as careful as usual."

"Oh, is that the way you take a look around before you enter the only building never used?" asked Lance, smirking. "Or the way you completely suppress all emotions till you're as cold as an Iceman?"

That, at least, made Keith react physically. Though his emotions were blocked from Lance, he cast a glower in Lance's direction. Then he returned his attention to the man. "I'm sorry, Maestro. I realised I was being followed and was worried someone... had discovered us. By trying to silence them, I only brought myself to defeat."

"You fought them... and they survived?"

"'Survived'?" Lance repeated, incredulously. "Woah now, wait a minute. I mean, if this is some sort of secret club, you can just ask us to keep a secret. Besides, not as if we're gonna tell someone Keith has some sort of... secret fighting lessons?"

Pidge suddenly gasped and a wave of shock and concern pierced Lance. He managed to keep himself from falling but still staggered a little. Glancing at her, she stared back with eyes wide. When she caught sight of Lance looking, she raised her eyebrows and tilted her head slightly. Lance frowned, trying to work out what she meant. The last thing he had said... 'secret fighting'... secret fighters... spies-

 _Oh_. Lance held his breath as he realised just how much trouble they had just walked in on. Would the maestro tell Keith to kill them? Would the other academs – no, _Cursors-in-training_ – help him? Should they try to make a run for it right now?

A wave of anxiousness suddenly rolled over him from Hunk and Lance knew that all three of them were on the same page. They had to work out a way to get out of there. Of course, he had a trump card he could play, a statement which would, hopefully, give them pause. It wasn't exactly a secret but this maestro and the academs might not know about it.

"That is not the point," said the maestro. He suddenly frowned a little deeper before looking at them curiously. Lance felt frozen in place, fingers twitching as he tried to find the calm of nearby water. "What I'm interested in," said the maestro, "is how you managed to notice Keith when he's gotten here without trouble before. Often on his own," he added a little pointedly with a glance in the academ's direction.

Swallowing, Lance dug his nails into the palms of his hands. The tiny pinpricks of pain stopped him from panicking too much and forced him to concentrate. "I... I can't sense Keith's emotions," he said, making sure not to look at him.

"You're not supposed to," Keith retorted.

"But I can sense others', even if they're hiding it. I mean, my younger siblings can lie to my mother without getting caught but I can tell they're fibbing about doing a chore or whatever. So it's kinda odd that I don't feel Keith's..."

"What about us?" asked the maestro, suddenly. "Can you sense our emotions?"

Lance blinked and concentrated, realising that he hadn't felt anything from the people gathered since he'd stepped into the room. Now, though, he could barely feel surprise and worry and... interest from the maestro. It was exactly like finding his younger siblings lying to his mum about secreting away a cake or two from a freshly-made batch. "Yeah," he told the maestro. "You're worried that we found your hideout so easily but you're curious as to how."

"Interesting," murmured the maestro. "Well then, you were saying that you can't sense Keith's emotions. And so...?"

"It... It feels different. I can still sense him. Sort of. It's hard to explain. I noticed him and saw him going into that old building. I wanted to know what he was up to so I-"

"We," said Pidge, firmly. "We decided to follow him. Only he attacked us instead."

"I thought they may have been enemy spies," Keith explained offhandedly, gesturing with a hand.

"It was really scary," Hunk interjected. "He just came at us like a raging gargant and we had to fend him off! Like, Pidge was using her metalcrafting, I used my earthcrafting to put him off balance and box him in and Lance used water to create mud."

"Then we talked him into taking us where he was going," Lance added. "We didn't know we were going to walk in on... this."

The maestro raised a hand to his chin and stroked at his beard while he thought. "Interesting," he repeated. "Well, I can't hold this class now."

"What?!" exclaimed one of the students, a plain-looking young woman. "But, Maestro Thace...! Can't you just send Keith away with this lot and teach the rest of us? It's not as if he gave a thought to any of _us_."

"I'm afraid I'll have to deal with this," Thace replied with a shrug of a shoulder. "We'll hold the class tomorrow. Now, off you go." Thace turned back to Lance and the others and strode over to them. "You three will have to come with me. And you, Keith. You'll accompany us and make sure we don't... lose any of them."

Gulping, Lance glanced between the worried Pidge and Hunk. It looked as though there was no way out of this. Whatever 'this' was going to be. His one consolation was that Keith didn't look too happy either.

* * *

They left the room and followed the maestro along the numerous underground pathways. Sometimes, they passed a mark that Pidge had made, barely seen in the light of the furylamps. Thace kept up a swift pace, however, and it wasn't long before Lance couldn't tell which way the exit was or where the room was or even if there was an end to the tunnels below the capital.

Silence weighed down on them and Lance began to fidget with the bottom of his shirt. He tried chewing on his lip to stop himself speaking but, eventually, he had to say something: Pidge and Hunk's increasing uneasiness was making his panic increase. "Where are we going?" he asked, trying to keep his voice down. It still echoed around them and made Lance jump when he thought someone else was speaking around the next corner.

"I'm taking you to speak with someone who'll know what to do with you," Thace replied, quieter than Lance.

"Oh," he whispered, wondering what that could mean.

He fell silent after that, listening to the stones being kicked beneath their feet. Eventually, they began to climb upwards and the silence was broken by their heavy breathing. When the path levelled out, they soon came to a set of stairs. Thace went up first and opened a heavy door at the top. Silently, he gestured for them all to step through and Lance was the first one to do so. He paused when he looked around and realised where he was.

Instead of the Academy, he was in a street, surrounded by tall walls. However, looking up the street to the top of a steep hill, Lance realised that he was in front of the First Lord's palace. The large building loomed over the street, its shadow almost at his feet. He could only just see the gate and a couple of men on guard. When he moved out of the doorway and looked back, he saw that a small section of the wall had swung out. He expected that, when it was closed, it would seamlessly blend with the sections beside it.

Once everyone was through and Thace had closed the door again, he turned and started to walk towards the palace. That made Lance frown, wondering who they could be going to see. Surely they weren't important enough to be taken to the First Lord? And the only other person who would have any contact with the Cursors would be... But, surely, he couldn't be that lucky?

As they got closer, Lance could make out more of the palace. It was made from perfectly crafted stone, a red kind which Lance couldn't name. Glass windows dotted the structure, large ones which would let in the light. It was elegant but defendable as could be seen from the battlements on the outer walls. Elegant turrets bordered the face of the palace, winding designs on the surface. Protective gargoyles squatted on the roof and on the wall surrounding the grounds.

The guards stopped them when they were a few paces from the gate. Thace gestured for the academs to stay where they were and moved forward to talk to them. Lance briefly considered making a run for it but he didn't know where to go and a glance at Keith's attentive face told him it was unwise. With the space between them, they couldn't hear the men speaking but Lance could sense what the guards were feeling: wariness, suspicion and then, when Thace showed them something, surprise and embarrassment. They seemed to converse quietly with each other and then hastily opened the gates far enough for one guard to pop in and, after a few moments, return to open the gate fully. Thace turned to the academs and waved them forward.

Passing the guards, Lance noticed them watching the group curiously. Impulsively, he winked at one of them and the guard, flustered, looked away. Lance grinned and hurried to catch up with Thace.

After crossing the grounds in the light of the setting sun, they entered the palace and Lance immediately felt better. There were large vases lining the corridor in regular intervals, each one filled with large ferns and tall-stemmed flowers. And, to keep them alive, water had been poured into each and every one. The presence of the water calmed Lance and he had to hold back a sigh of relief. With the calming balm of the water, Lance pushed away the emotions of his friends until they were in the back of his mind. He relaxed enough that the silence was no longer ominous and he sought to break it again.

"We're not going to see the First Lord, are we?" he asked. "I mean, he's busy, right?"

"Yes, he is," said Maestro Thace but he did not elaborate. "This way." And he turned into another corridor.

Finally, they came to a door and stopped. Thace raised a hand, knocked and opened the door, stepping in and gesturing for the others to follow. They did so and Lance's eyes were drawn immediately to the large, shallow pool of water set into the floor directly before him. He relished in the feeling and wished he could touch it directly.

Then he took a look around the rest of the room. It was richly furnished with a variety of couches and small tables. Drapes hung before the window and over a doorway on their left. Painted scenery and tapestries decorated the walls. A desk was in the corner, covered in rolls of parchment and a bookcase filled with books and other papers was tucked into the wall beside it. Two sets of armour and weaponry were piled upon one of the couches. And there was a man and woman, facing each other, arms seemingly reaching for each other.

He had black hair with a tuft of white at the front, tall and muscular. A scar crossed his nose. His clothes were plain and loose, as if he was ready for bed. The woman also had a loose, white dress on and matching slippers. Her hair was almost silver and fell in a sheet of beautiful locks. With dark skin and keen eyes, she looked as beautiful as ever, bemused smile on her lips.

Lance was relieved to recognise both of them.

"What-?" the woman exclaimed, lowering her arms. "Tha-" she began before spotting Lance. Her eyes widen and she brightened. "Lance!" she cried.

"Hello, princeps," Lance replied. "It's nice to see such a beautiful face after so long."

The princeps shook her head with a fond smile. "How are you getting on at the Academy?"

"I'm doing well."

"When you turn up to lessons," muttered Pidge.

Turning to her, Lance stuck out his tongue. As he did, the man stepped forward; at first glance he looked calm, collected and alert. Lance, however, could sense his confusion. "Um, as much as it's nice to see you again Lance – and you, Keith – what, exactly, is going on? Shouldn't these three academs be in their barracks?" He gestured at Lance and his friends before looking expectantly at Thace.

Bowing, the maestro nodded. "They should," he agreed. "I am sorry to interrupt, Sir Shiro, Princeps Allura. However... There is a bit of a situation and I think it would be best if we sat to discuss our options."

"That sounds like it would be a good idea," Allura agreed. "It seems as if it might be a long story. Please, sit, and I will send for wine."

There was slow movement as Shiro strode towards the door to call for one of the guards or servants they had passed on the way. Thace stepped forward but declined a seat, standing close to where he insisted Keith sit. As Lance, Hunk and Pidge took a couch to themselves, Hunk leaned down to murmur in Lance's ear.

"Are we okay? Or in real trouble?" he asked.

"Calm down, Hunk," Lance responded. "Allura's really cool. Nothing bad will happen to us. I reckon whatever good option they've thought of will happen."

"But what would that be?" asked Pidge. "Their good option could be that we get sent home."

"Nah," said Lance, dismissively, waving a hand. However, a twinge of doubt made him glance at the water, longing to touch it and regain his confidence. He took a breath instead and leaned back to lounge, arms resting on the back of the couch. Pidge huffed and sat on one side of him while Hunk hunched up beside him and clutched the armrest.

Finally, they had refreshments and settled down, Allura seated on her own couch with Shiro standing behind her, hand resting on the hilt of his sword. They both seemed calm but Lance could still sense their emotions under the surface, as if he was looking at them sitting under a murky pool of water. Curious, he concentrated and noted that they were both worried, both curious, and both still had the remnants of... arousal?

Ducking his head a little to hide his blush, Lance almost missed Thace beginning to explain why they were there. He quickly looked up and only then realised that he was seated directly opposite Keith who was staring straight at him. Lance's eyes widened, knowing full well his cheeks were a little red. Keith blinked and then glanced away and at Shiro, frowning slightly. Scowling at him, Lance was surprised to see Allura turn to him out of the corner of his eye.

He was then quizzed – as were Pidge and Hunk – about the events leading up to entering the Cursor classroom. Then Keith reluctantly answered questions, being rather taciturn in his answers. Despite that, he got his main points across and they lapsed into silence once the story had been examined from every angle.

By that point, the refreshments had been polished off and the silence was heavy as Allura considered what had been said. "Well," she finally said, "I think there's really only one thing to do. But we must ask my father's opinion first."

"Does this really warrant disturbing him?" Thace asked with a grimace.

"Yes," the princeps replied. "This will need his approval."

Lance suppressed a groan at the thought of moving or repeating the story _again_. He glanced at his friends who were both still nervous, though now noticeably less so. Hunk was far more content than earlier since he had had some food (dainty cakes and small finger foods). Pidge, though... was attempting to clamp down on her emotions and failing somewhat. He frowned at the irritation she was feeling and glanced at Shiro which was where it seemed to be directed, since she kept looking at him. Why would Pidge be annoyed at Shiro? What had he done to anger her?

Returning his attention to the conversation, he heard Shiro say, "Are you sure? You know he usually approves of what you think is right."

"Sometimes he doesn't," Allura replied with a small frown. "Besides, it shouldn't take too long." And she stood, took a few steps and knelt in front of the pool. Lance straightened up, realising that he was about to watch a powerful crafter work a water sending, something he had rarely done before.

Allura reached out to touch the water with the tip of a finger. They all watched as the water stirred slightly, rippling in a widening circle. Lance felt the disturbance in his very being as Blue, who had let rest in the pool to comfort himself, rushed back to him away from Allura's fury: he shuddered, garnering concerned glances from his friends and a disinterested glance from Keith. As he recovered, the water at Allura's fingertips bubbled upwards till it was a few inches tall, swirling around until the edges fell away and moulded into the exact form of Allura in the clothes she was wearing. Without warning, it suddenly fell back into the pool, drops of water splashing into the air before Allura flicked her hand and they returned to the pool.

The silence wrapped around them, pressing down on Lance as they waited. He tried to distract himself by sending Blue back to the pool, searching for the way Allura's sending had gone. He had sent his own sendings before but only by using rivers or wells so he was eager to find out how to do it from an enclosed pool. Just as he thought he may have found a sophisticated drainage system, he felt the water shift and knew that a sending was coming through. Quickly, he pulled Blue back to himself and watched as the water rippled and burst upwards.

An image of a man appeared there, in full colour. Despite only a few inches high in the pool, it was clear to Lance that he was both tall and broad. He wore shining armour which only made him look stronger and more intimidating – if it wasn't for the fond smile gracing his lips. Allura had his eyes and hair, though, where she wore hers long, the man had his cropped short, his beard neatly clipped. A helmet was tucked under one arm. Behind him, a blue cloak flowed from the back of the armour, shifting slightly as if from a breeze. Upon his breastplate was the crest of the First Lord's family: a rearing, white lion upon an azure background, surrounded by pink juniberries.

First Lord Alfor looked like a kind man, Lance thought as he watched him raise a hand in greeting, clearly happy to see his daughter. He hoped he would feel merciful to the three of them.

"My dearest daughter," Alfor said. "It is good to see you."

"It is good to see you, too," Allura replied, seeming as giddy as Lance's younger siblings when they were told they were getting a treat. "How goes it?"

"I believe we will be able to halt the hostilities for a while – at least for long enough for me to return and consult the Senate."

Allura pulled a face. "Are you sure? That could take a while..."

"It will be fine, Allura. I'll make sure it is." Then Alfor looked past his daughter to smile at Shiro. "Ah, there you are. And how are you, Sir Shiro?"

"Sire," said Shiro, bowing. "It is good to see you again."

"Evading the question, I see," Alfor teased, grinning at Shiro. Then he took a look around the rest of the room. His eyebrows raised in surprise and he blinked at all of them. "Maestro Thace? What is going on?"

"I shall explain," Allura said and concisely conveyed what had been told to her. "We just want your permission to... well, I want to induct them into the Cursor programme. I mean, Lance already saved my life and, if he is a powerful enough watercrafter and properly trained, he could be a great asset. His friends are no doubt just as good."

Beside Lance, Pidge and Hunk were too shocked to do anything but stare. Lance looked at Allura's mischievous grin and Thace's amused smile: clearly, they had realised that they thought they were in trouble and deliberately drawn out their judgement. Movement across from him had Lance looking over at Keith to find him frowning deeply; he still couldn't sense his emotions and he forced himself not to scowl in case the First Lord thought he was angry at the suggestion.

"Dear Allura," said the First Lord with a sigh. "You know that I trust you with these decisions. It was, after all, _you_ who picked Sir Shiro from the multitude of Cursors to be my bodyguard. And he has done a fine job."

"Until you disappeared in the night, sire," said Shiro, pointedly.

Alfor chuckled. "Ah, yes. I do apologise. Again. But you have served my daughter well."

Shiro gave him an exasperated look but seemed to acknowledge the compliment. He glanced around the room before saying, "So these three will become Cursors? As will Keith?"

"Of course," said Allura. "If he can hide his emotions so well, he will not be discovered by a less powerful watercrafter. As for these three..." She turned to look at them. "Would you like to become a Cursor?"

Hunk was the first to regain the power of speech. "Uh... Isn't that kinda dangerous?"

"It can be," Shiro admitted. "But we will teach you how to not get caught."

"I mean, um..."

Pidge interrupted him. "I want to ask a question first." Allura nodded to show that was acceptable but Pidge turned to Shiro instead. "You were friends with my brother," she said. "His name was Matt."

"Ah, Pidge!" Shiro exclaimed. "You've grown since I last saw you!"

She flashed him a quick smile but she quickly turned serious, anger bubbling under the surface. "I came to the Academy to be with my brother – I haven't seen him since I got here. Is he a Cursor, too?"

Grimacing, Shiro nodded. "Yes. He's in the middle of a mission right now and isn't in Alera Imperia, I'm afraid."

"Then where is he?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Who can?" Pidge demanded.

"You are not a Cursor," Thace pointed out. "And, even if you were, it would be detrimental to the mission if you were captured and the information forced out of you."

"I would never put my brother in danger," Pidge snapped.

"We still can't tell you," Shiro said, gently.

"If I become a Cursor, is there a chance I could be put on the same mission and see him?" she asked him, turning her head in such a way that her ponytail whipped around with an audible swish; it was clear she was dismissing Thace.

Shiro looked at Thace then at the princeps. Then he shrugged. "I don't see why not?" he said.

"Then I'll become a Cursor," Pidge declared, folding her arms across her chest with finality. "When do we start training? There was supposed to be a class of some sort, right?"

"What about you, Lance, Hunk?" asked Allura, smiling at them encouragingly.

Lance grinned at her. "Cursors get to travel the world, right? And save the day. And they get the girl, too, right?"

Allura looked to Shiro for an answer. "Sure," he said with another shrug. It didn't place any confidence in Lance but his grin widened anyway.

"Then I'll be one. I mean, I have experience, right?" He winked at Allura who rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"What about you, Hunk?" she asked, pointedly not looking at Lance who knew she was amused.

"Well, I mean, it doesn't sound like a very appealing career choice," said Hunk with a wince. His nervousness began to increase, making Lance grimace and shrink away from him as he began to rattle off the reasons why it was a bad idea. "You could completely fail the mission and the world as we know it would be destroyed. Or maybe you make a mistake in trusting someone and that gets you killed. Or captured. And then they'll torture you with, like, knives and furycrafting and psychological stuff. A-And then, when they're done with you, they'll put a collar on you and make you a slave. And then you'll die anyway! Or you might have to deal with the Icemen or the Marat or the Canim and then-"

"So you don't want to tag along?" Pidge interjected, halting his flow of words. "You'll have to put up with all our secrets..."

Hunk blinked at her. "Well, yeah, but..."

"Come on, man!" Lance said, slapping a hand on Hunk's hefty shoulder. "What are you worried about? You've got us to watch your back, right?"

"That's... not really all that reassuring."

"Aw, come on. It'll be fun!" Lance insisted. "Besides, you're not gonna get caught. It'll be fine."

With a pained expression, Hunk looked at all of them and deflated. "Okay. But, just so you know, this is going to end badly."

"There!" exclaimed Allura. "What do you think about the new batch of Cursors, Father?"

Alfor smiled. "They are certainly interesting. I will have to meet with them properly soon. Perhaps in a month or so once I have finished working on this. Now, I regret that I must go, daughter. There is someone calling for me."

"Yes, Father," Allura replied in a small voice and with a cute little pout. "Be careful."

"Of course, my daughter." And the image of Alfor collapsed, falling into the pool and disappearing completely.

They all waited in silence for a moment while Allura collected herself. When she was ready, she stood up, glanced at Shiro and turned to the others in the room. "In that case," she said, "we will start you on your Cursor training right away. Or, rather, tomorrow evening?" The question was directed at Thace who nodded.

"Yes. We will start them off with learning how to fight without furycrafting, as was meant to be the lesson today." Thace paused, placing a thumb and forefinger to his chin. "I think I shall have Dulcia pair with Pidge. Tacitus is around the same build as Hunk. And, as for Lance-"

"He should train with Keith," Allura declared, looking quite happy.

Lance froze. Slowly, he managed to say, "I'm sorry, with _who_?"

"Keith," Allura told him, gesturing to the couch opposite. "You're such a powerful watercrafter that you would be able to dodge anyone else's attacks. Since Keith is so good at hiding his emotions, it will be good training, for him as well. Don't you think?" she added, smiling wider.

Unable to think of a good counter-argument, Lance shifted his head in a half-nod, half-shake. Allura took it to mean his assent and excitedly turned to Shiro and Thace to discuss the logistics of having three new Cursors-in-Training beginning midway through the year. Lance ignored them and turned his head, searching for Keith and for Keith's emotions, wondering what he felt about the situation. But Keith was suppressing them so much that he was a blank void and Lance only had the glare Keith sent him to tell him that he wasn't any happier than Lance was.

* * *

 _ **Apparently princeps means both prince and princess in Latin (according to Google Translate). If I'm wrong, let me know and I'll change it to the correct one.  
**_

 _ **Juniberries exist in this Alera now.**_


End file.
